In some places, apartment rents fall

Apartment rents are sliding in many U.S. markets as landlords offer concessions to lure tenants.

Rental communities around the country have come under increasing pressure during the COVID-19 outbreak, but so far have not suffered significant declines in occupancy, a report from RealPage indicates.

But some major cities are seeing significant cuts in effective rents as the pandemic drags on.

“For the country as a whole, effective asking rents as of August are off 1.4 percent from the pricing seen a year earlier,” RealPage chief economist Greg Willett said in the recent study. “Markets suffering big price cuts tend to be the coastal gateway locations.

“In the worst performances, asking effective rents are down 12.7 percent in San Francisco, 11.4 percent in San Jose and 10.1 percent in New York.”

Dallas-area apartment landlords are cutting rents between 1 percent and 3 percent on average, RealPage found.

Fort Worth-area rents still are rising 1 percent to 3 percent year over year.

And in the Austin area, rents are seeing annual declines of 3 percent or more, RealPage analysts said.

“Looking beyond gateway markets, more modest rent cuts are seen in areas where sizable numbers of new properties moving through initial lease-up are encouraging discounts at top-tier developments,” Willett said. “Key examples include most of the Texas markets, plus locations like Nashville, Denver and Seattle.”

As of last week, just over 90 percent of apartment renters nationwide had made their September rent payments, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council, which represents major apartment owners.